Abstracts

Rationale: Exercise is considered to be a contributor to good health. Yet, in people with epilepsy (PWE), it is unclear whether exercise is beneficial, or even safe. PWE who take antiepileptic medications (AEDs) may be reluctant to exercise for fear of having a seizure, or due to effects of medications on alertness or coordination. There is also incomplete information about what type of exercise may be acceptable in PWE. Physicians are often asked by their epilepsy patients about whether they should exercise. The purpose of the study is to ask PWE about exercise habits, and determine whether physicians have provided them with guidance about them.Methods: Upon IRB approval, a survey of 19 questions was given to 143 PWE located in an urban outpatient Neurology clinic setting. Information collected included demographics, seizure frequency, medications, as well as common co-morbidities: hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. We recorded the amount and type of exercise performed, physician recommendations, and how exercise impacted seizures. Data were analyzed descriptively and with correlational statistics.Results: 111/143 surveys were usable (32 were incomplete). The diverse population (53% women, 47% men) consisted of Caucasians: 31%; African Americans: 28%; Hispanics: 28%; Asians: 10%; and Middle Easterners: 3%. Median age (collected in ranges) was 31-50 (18-65). Median monthly seizure frequency (collected in ranges) was 205 (0->20). Patients took a median of 1 AED. Common co-morbidities included: hypertension (37%), obesity (23%), and diabetes (9%). 58% of PWE reported engaging in regular exercise, with a median frequency of 1 day/week. Exercise included running (22%), weight lifting (19%), biking (15%), swimming (10%), and team sports (6%), with 28% other physical activity. Walking was excluded. A statistically significant number of patients who exercised felt that it led to a reduction in seizure frequency ( 2 = 9.12, p = 0.010). Of note, 7 (6%) people reported having had a seizure while exercising. There was no statistically significant correlation between exercise and reported seizure frequency (p > 0.05). While a majority of PWE did some exercise, physicians did not encourage those with comorbidities to exercise more than those without co-morbidities (high BP, 2= 0.02,p=0.871; obesity, 2= 1.35, p = 0.245; diabetes, 2= 0.40, p = 0.527).Conclusions: Our survey of exercise habits in a diverse ethnic population of PWE revealed that a majority do exercise at least once per week, even though their seizures were not controlled. Those who did exercise felt that it led to a reduction in seizures. Interestingly, a majority of patients reported they were encouraged to exercise by their physicians; the presence of co-morbidity did not appear to affect this. Finally, we were unable to correlate a lower seizure frequency in those who did exercise. Limitations include single site data collection, lack of independent assessment of seizures, frequency or exercise, and subject bias. However, the study does provide insight into the exercise habits of PWE, and raises further questions about the relationship between exercise and epilepsy.